The environmental burdens imposed by beef production far exceed the burdens imposed by other types of livestock and plant staples, according to a US study. Comparing how much feed and therefore land, water and fertiliser was required in US production, dairy, poultry, pork and eggs were quite similar, but beef required 28 times more land, […]

A new livestock virus spreading across Europe and panicking farmers in the Norther Hemisphere is unlikely to reach New Zealand shores. The Schmallenberg virus, named after German region where the its was first detected, causes fetal congenital malformations and stillbirths in cattle, sheep, and goats. Spread by the Culicoides midge species, the virus was first identified […]

Cattle infected with foot and mouth disease (FMD) are only infectious for a brief window of time, around half what was previously thought, according to a study published today in the journal Science. Outbreaks of the devastating virus, which affects cattle, sheep, pigs, deer and other animals, led to mass culling of livestock in the UK in […]

Farmers in Taranaki and Taupo should learn lessons from the effect of the recent eruption in Iceland’s dairy farmers, and appropriate plans are necessary to avoid livestock loss in the case of such an event. Dangers include fluoride poisoning if outside during and after such an event, as well as crumbling teeth and contaminated water. […]

Brian Fallow writes in the New Zealand Herald that the government is pleased with the outcome of the first Global Research Alliance (GRA) meeting. The GRA will divide into three work streams, with New Zealand and the Netherlands co-ordinating all the work to be done on livestock emissions. An excerpt: (read in full here) “The […]

Kathy Marks of the NZ Herald reports on an Australian project in which sheep are to have their burp outputs measured. The project, which is the first of its kind, aims to identify those animals which burp less, potentiallyallowing the breeding of ‘burpless’ sheep. An excerpt: (read in full here) “The world-first study is being […]

Scientists all over the world are looking into strategies which would reduce the amount of methane produced by livestock. An excerpt: (read in full here) “Everything from changing the animal’s diets to breeding new sheep has been attempted, but researchers are becoming continually frustrated by livestock emission. Cocktails of clover, garlic, and cottonseed and doses […]

An investigation by the Sunday Star Time‘s reporter Kim Knight into the importation into New Zealand from Malaysia and Indonesia of palm kernel extract for use as a livestock feed supplement in the dairy industry. An excerpt: (read in full here) “Palm kernel expeller or PKE is a product made from its crushed and processed […]

The Wall Street Journal’s South East Asia bureau chief Patrick Barta, visited New Zealand to report on research efforts underway here to cut methane emissions from livestock. Read the story here in full. An excerpt: “The root of the problem is that sheep, cows, goats and other so-called ruminants are unique in the way they […]

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Reporter Paul Gorman departs The Press after 14 years, including a stint spent getting to grips with earthquake science.
Paul takes up a position as senior communications advisor at the University of Otago at the end of January, moving south to Dunedin to immerse himself in research – and assist scientists communicate it.
Over the years... >> Read Full Post